Method for converting natural gas to liquid hydrocarbons

ABSTRACT

A process for converting natural gas to a liquid includes heating the gas to a selected range of temperature to convert a fraction of the gas stream to reactive hydrocarbons, primarily ethylene or acetylene, and reacting methane and the reactive hydrocarbons in the presence of an acidic catalyst to produce a liquid, predominantly naphtha or gasoline. A portion of the incoming natural gas may be used to heat the remainder of the natural gas to the selected range of temperature. Hydrogen resulting from the reactions may be used to make electricity in a fuel cell. Alternatively, hydrogen may be burned to heat the natural gas to the selected range of temperature.

This is a continuation in part of a application Ser. No. 09/574,510filed May 19, 2000, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,247 which is acontinuation Ser. No. 09/199,502 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,260, filed onNov. 25, 1998.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to conversion of natural gas to hydrocarbonliquids. More particularly, natural gas is converted to reactivehydrocarbons and the reactive hydrocarbons are reacted with additionalnatural gas to form hydrocarbon liquids.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Natural gas often contains about 60-100 mole per cent methane, thebalance being primarily heavier alkanes. Alkanes of increasing carbonnumber are normally present in decreasing amounts. Carbon dioxide,nitrogen, and other gases may be present.

Conversion of natural gas into hydrocarbon liquids has been atechnological goal for many years. The goal has become even moreimportant in recent years as more natural gas has been found in remotelocations, where gas pipelines may not be economically justified. Asignificant portion of the world reserves of natural gas occurs in suchremote regions. While liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol projectshave long attracted attention by making possible conversion of naturalgas to a liquid, in recent years the advent of large scale projectsbased upon Fisher-Tropsch (F-T) technology have attracted moreattention. A review of proposed and existing F-T projects along with adiscussion of economics of the projects has recently been published (Oiland Gas J., Sep. 21 and Sep. 28, 1998). In this technology, natural gasis first converted to “syngas,” which is a mixture of carbon monoxideand hydrogen, and the syngas is converted to liquid paraffinic andolefinic hydrocarbons of varying chain lengths. The F-T technology wasdeveloped for using coal as a feed stock, and only two plants nowoperate using natural gas as feedstock—in South Africa and in Malaysia.A study showed that for a plant producing 45,000 bbls/day (BPD) ofliquids in a U.S. location in 1993, investment costs would have beenabout $38,000 per BPD production (Oil and Gas J., Sep. 28, 1998, p. 99).Improved designs are said to lower investment cost to the range of$30,000 per BPD for a 20,000 BPD facility. Such a plant would use about180 MMSCFD of natural gas, 10 million GPD of raw water and 150 BPD ofnormal butane, and would produce excess steam, which could be used toproduce 10 megawatts of electricity.

The conversion of natural gas to unsaturated hydrocarbons and hydrogenby subjecting the hydrocarbons in natural gas to high temperaturesproduced by electromagnetic radiation or electrical discharges has beenextensively studied. U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,773 discloses a conversionprocess that subjects methane plus hydrocarbons to microwave radiationso as to produce an electric discharge in an electromagnetic field. U.S.Pat. No. 5,131,993 discloses a method for cracking a hydrocarbonmaterial in the presence of a microwave discharge plasma and a carriergas, such as oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, and, generally, a catalyst.U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,189 is an example of patents relating to productionof acetylene by an electric arc.

Methane pyrolysis to acetylene and hydrogen by rapid heating in areaction zone and subsequent rapid quenching has also been extensivelyinvestigated. Subatmospheric pressures and specific ranges of velocitiesof hydrocarbon gases through the reaction zone are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 3,156,733. Heat is supplied by burning of hydrocarbons.

Although the prior art has disclosed a range of methods for formingacetylene or ethylene from natural gas, an energy-efficient process forconverting natural gas to a liquid that can be transported efficientlyfrom remote areas to market areas has not been available. What is neededis a process that does not require large capital and operatingexpenditures such as required by the prior art processes. Also, theprocess should be energy efficient.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a process diagram for one embodiment of the process of thisinvention in which the natural gas is heated to reaction temperature byburning a portion of the natural gas in a furnace.

FIG. 2 shows a process diagram of another embodiment of the process ofthis invention in which the natural gas is heated to reactiontemperature by electrical energy produced by hydrogen and acetylene isreacted to ethylene prior to liquefaction.

FIG. 3 shows a process diagram for one embodiment of the process of thisinvention in which the natural gas is heated to reaction temperature byburning of hydrogen in a furnace and acetylene is reacted to ethyleneprior to liquefaction.

FIG. 4 shows a process diagram for one embodiment of the process of thisinvention in which the natural gas is heated to reaction temperature byburning some of the natural gas in a furnace and acetylene is reacted toethylene prior to liquefaction.

FIG. 5 shows a process diagram for one embodiment of the process of thisinvention in which the natural gas is heated to reaction temperature byelectrical energy produced by hydrogen and a portion of the natural gas.

FIG. 6 shows a process diagram for one embodiment of the process of thisinvention in which the natural gas is heated to reaction temperature byburning a portion of the natural gas in a furnace.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A process for conversion of natural gas to a hydrocarbon liquid fortransport from remote locations is provided. In one embodiment, thenatural gas is heated to a temperature at which a fraction of thenatural gas is converted to hydrogen and a reactive hydrocarbon such asacetylene or ethylene. The stream is then quenched to stop any furtherreactions and then reacted in the presence of a catalyst to form theliquid to be transported, predominantly naphtha or gasoline. Hydrogenmay be separated after quenching and before the catalytic reactor. Heatfor raising the temperature of the natural gas stream is provided byburning of a portion of the natural gas feed stream. Hydrogen producedin the reaction is available for further refining or in generation ofelectricity by oxidation in a fuel cell or turbine. In anotherembodiment, heat produced from the fuel cell is used to generateadditional electricity. In another embodiment, the acetylene portion ofthe reactive hydrocarbon is reacted with hydrogen to form ethylene priorto reacting to form the liquid to be transported. In another embodiment,hydrogen produced in the reaction is burned to raise the temperature ofthe natural gas stream and the acetylene portion of the reactivehydrocarbon is reacted with hydrogen to form ethylene prior to reactingto form the liquid to be transported. In still another embodiment,hydrogen produced in the process is used to generate electrical power,the electrical power used to heat the natural gas stream, and theacetylene portion of the reactive hydrocarbon stream is reacted withhydrogen to form ethylene prior to reacting to form the liquid to betransported.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,260 and application Ser. No. 09/574,510 filed May19, 2000, are incorporated by reference herein. FIG. 1 shows oneembodiment of the steps for producing a liquid product such as naphthaor gasoline from natural gas in the present invention. In thisembodiment, a portion of the natural gas feed is diverted from the feedstream to the burners in the combustion furnace 10, where the divertednatural gas is burned, preferably with oxygen-enriched, air such thatNOx production from combustion furnace 10 is decreased. As shown in FIG.1, inlet gas stream 12 is separated into inlet gas feed stream 14 andinlet gas burn stream 16. Inlet gas feed stream 14 is conveyed to thereaction chamber of combustion furnace 10. Inlet gas burn stream 16 isconveyed to the combustion chamber of combustion furnace 10. Inlet gasfeed stream 14 is preferably pre-heated in pre-heaters (not shown)before it is heated to the preferred reaction temperature by heatexchange with the hydrocarbon-combustion gas. The flame temperature ofinlet gas burn stream 16 should be adequate to reach a desired reactiontemperature preferably between 1000 and 1800 K without oxygen enrichmentof air, but sufficient enrichment can be easily achieved with membraneunits, which are well known in the art, and this will avoid thenecessity of NOx control in emissions from combustion furnace 10.Addition of water to the combustion zone of combustion furnace 10 may beused to lower flame temperature to a desired range, preferably about 300to 500 K above the preferred reaction temperature of natural gas passingthrough tubes of combustion furnace 10. Residence time of gas in thetubes of combustion furnace 10 should be long enough to convert inletgas feed stream 14 to acetylene, ethylene, and other reactive compoundsand not so long as to allow significant further reactions before thequenching step, which is discussed below. It is preferred to maintainthe residence time to under 100 milliseconds, most preferably under 80milliseconds to minimize coke formation. Bringing the natural gas feedstream, for simplicity here considered methane only, to high temperaturecauses the following reaction to occur:

2CH₄→C₂H₆+H₂→C₂H₄+H₂→C₂H₂+H₂→2C+H₂.

The desired products from this series of reactions are ethylene andacetylene. Suppression of the last reaction or last two reactions may berequired to achieve the desired products. This may be accomplished bysuch methods as adjusting the reaction temperature and pressure, and/orquenching after a desired residence time. The desired hydrocarbonproducts of the reactions are designated herein as “reactive products.”It is preferred to maintain the pressure of the natural gas within thereaction chamber of combustion furnace 10 to between 1 and 20 bars toachieve the reactive products. The reactive products resulting from thereaction in combustion furnace 10 leave combustion furnace 10 throughfurnace outlet stream 18.

In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, natural gas is heated inhigh-temperature reactor 110 by means of electrical power that isproduced by use of hydrogen in electrical power generator 50. Inlet gasstream 12 becomes inlet gas feed stream 14 and is directed to thereaction chamber of high temperature reactor 110. The electrical powermay be produced by, for example, fuel cells powered by hydrogen or by acombined cycle gas or hydrogen gas turbine driving electricalgenerators. Water is also produced. Investment costs for fuel cellproduction of electrical power are high at present, but may be reducedby improved technology in the future. Combined cycle gas turbines arewell known and at present produce electrical power at significantlylower capital costs per kW (approximately $385 per kW) than the capitalcosts of fuel cells (estimated at $3,000 per kW). In either case, theelectrical power is used to increase the temperature of the natural gasstream entering high-temperature reactor 110. The high temperature maybe produced from the electrical power by an electric arc or silentdischarge between electrodes, using methods well known in the art.Alternatively, the high temperature may be produced by resistanceheating of electrodes. In another alternative embodiment, a plasma maybe formed in the natural gas stream using a plasma reactor, such as the“Plasmatron” sold by Praxair, Thermal Spray Systems, N670 CommunicationDrive, Appleton, Wis. 54915. Plasma temperatures are higher than thepreferred temperature range for the gas reactions of this invention, soa more energy-efficient process may be achieved without bringing thenatural gas to plasma temperature. The higher temperature produces extracomponents in the product stream that require a great deal more energyand would make the process not as energy efficient.

In another alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, hydrogen separatedfrom the reactive products, as described below, is directed to hydrogencombustion furnace 210, where the hydrogen is burned, preferably withoxygen-enriched air such that NOx production from hydrogen combustionfurnace 210 is decreased. As further shown in FIG. 4, inlet gas stream12 becomes inlet gas feed stream 14 and is directed to reaction chamberof hydrogen combustion furnace 210. Flame temperature of hydrogen isadequate to reach a desired reaction temperature without oxygenenrichment of air, but sufficient enrichment can be easily achieved withmembrane units, which are well known in the art, and this will avoid thenecessity of NOx control in emissions from hydrogen combustion furnace210. Addition of water to the combustion zone of hydrogen combustionfurnace 210 may be used to lower flame temperature to a desired range,preferably about 300 to 500 K above the preferred reaction temperatureof natural gas passing through tubes in hydrogen combustion furnace 210.

The materials of construction of combustion furnace 10, high temperaturereactor 110, and hydrogen combustion furnace 210 are not standard.Specialty materials such as tungsten, tantalum or ceramics may be used.The temperature rise should occur in a short period of time. Thefurnaces may be of the double-radiant-section box-type as pictured inFIG. 19.5, p. 681, of D. Q. Kern, Process Heat Transfer, McGraw-HillBook Co., New York (1950). The furnace may use tantalum (Ta) orsilicon/carbide tubing. Steam pressures will be low, about 6 psig.Kinetic calculations indicate a suitable time for heating the naturalgas to the reaction temperature is in the range from about 1 millisecondto about 100 milliseconds. To stop the reactions and prevent the reversereactions or further reactions to form carbon and other hydrocarboncompounds, rapid cooling or “quenching” is essential, typically in 10 to100 milliseconds. As shown in FIG. 1, furnace outlet stream 18 isdirected to quench system 15. Quenched furnace outlet stream 18 exitsquench system 15 through quench outlet stream 19. The quench in quenchsystem 15 maybe achieved by spraying water, oil, or liquid product intofurnace outlet stream 18; “dumped” into water, natural gas feed, orliquid products; or expanded in a kinetic energy quench such as aJoule-Thompson expander, choke nozzle or turbo expander. This quenchoccurs in a similar fashion in high-temperature reactor 110 in FIG. 3,and hydrogen combustion furnace 210 in FIG. 4.

Furnace outlet stream 18 is typically essentially one part alkene/alkynemixture to three parts methane. In particular, “lean” natural gas, i.e.,gas with 95% or greater methane reacts to mostly acetylene as a reactiveproduct. Where the natural gas is lean, it is desirable to operate thefurnace in the upper end of the desired range to achieve a highercontent of alkynes, in particular acetylene. In contrast, in a richerstream, it may be desirable to operate at a temperature lower in thedesirable range to achieve a higher content of alkenes, primarilyethylene.

As shown in FIG. 1 while the gas in furnace outlet stream 18 is still ata temperature above 500 K, but after quenching in quench system 15, aportion of the hydrogen in quench outlet stream 19 may be separated fromthe reactive hydrocarbon in hydrogen separator 20. In an alternativeembodiment, all of the hydrogen is directed to liquefaction reactor 30without the separator step of hydrogen separator 20. This separationstep may be performed by any of a variety of processes, includingmembrane or pressure swing processes, described for example in: A. Malekand S. Farooq, “Hydrogen Purification from Refinery Fuel Gas by PressureSwing Adsorption”, AIChE J. 44, 1985 (1998). The hydrogen is removedfrom hydrogen gas separator 20 through hydrogen separator hydrogenstream 22. Hydrogen separator hydrogen stream 22 is composed primarilyof hydrogen, but may also contain trace amounts of the other componentsin furnace outlet stream 18. After removal of the a portion of thehydrogen in hydrogen gas separator 20, the remaining portion of quenchoutlet stream 19 is removed from hydrogen gas separator 20 throughhydrogen separator outlet stream 26.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portion of hydrogen separator hydrogen stream 26may be recycled and combined with inlet gas stream 12 through recyclestream 49. Hydrogen separator hydrogen stream 22 may be used in anynumber of processes. In one embodiment of the present invention, asshown in FIG. 1, hydrogen separated in hydrogen separator 20 may be usedto generate water and electricity by combining it with oxygen or byburning it with oxygen in a turbine in electrical generator 50. For fuelcells, any fuel cell design that uses a hydrogen stream and an oxygenstream may be used, for example polymer electrolyte, alkaline,phosphoric acid, molten carbonate, and solid oxide fuel cells. Heatgenerated by the fuel cell or turbine may be used to boil the waterexiting the fuel cell, forming steam. This steam maybe used to generateelectricity, for instance in a steam turbine. This electricity may besold, or as shown in FIG. 3, used to power high-temperature reactor 110.The heat generated by the fuel cell or turbine may also be used in heatexchangers to raise the temperatures of streams in the process, such asin the preheaters. In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, hydrogenseparator outlet stream 22 may be produced as a product. In stillanother alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, hydrogen separatorrecycle stream 22 is burned directly in hydrogen combustion furnace 210.As shown in FIG. 5, a portion of inlet gas stream 12 may be separatedfrom inlet gas stream 12 and routed through supplemental gas stream 16to electrical generator 50. In this way, additional electrical power maybe generated. As shown in FIG. 6, electrical generator 50 may beeliminated entirely so as to maximize hydrogen production.

As further shown in FIG. 1, hydrogen separator outlet stream 26, whichincludes the reactive products, is conveyed from hydrogen separator 20to liquefaction reactor 30. Liquefaction reactor 30 is a catalyticreactor that may include recycle and is designed to convert the reactiveproducts to hydrocarbon liquids such as naphtha or gasoline. Theprincipal liquefaction reactions in liquefaction reactor 30 are asfollows:

For acetylene,

nCH₄+C₂H₂=naphtha/gasoline+H₂,

and for ethylene,

mCH₄+C₂H₄=naphtha/gasoline+H₂.

This reaction must be catalyzed to suppress the reaction of acetylene tobenzene and to enhance the conversion to hydrocarbon liquids such asnaphtha or gasoline, which is preferred for the method of thisinvention.

Liquefaction reactor 30 shown in FIG. 1, should produce predominantlynaphtha or gasoline, but may also produce some aromatic and cycliccompounds. The vapor pressure of naphtha or gasoline is about 1 bar at40° C. Thus, it can be transported via truck or ship. Heavierhydrocarbons such as crude oil may be added to the produced liquid toreduce vapor pressure of a liquid to be transported.

The reaction to produce naphtha or gasoline is thermodynamicallyfavorable. The equilibrium thermodynamics for the reactions of acetyleneand ethylene with methane are more favorable at low to moderatetemperatures (300-1000 K). It is well known in the chemical industrythat alkanes of ethane and higher can be converted to higher molecularweight hydrocarbons using acid catalysts, such as the zeolites H-ZSM-5or Ultrastable Y (USY).

Applicants have discovered that the amount of Bröenstead Acid sites onthe catalyst should be maximized in comparison to the Lewis acid sites.This maybe accomplished by increasing the silica to alumina ratio in thecatalyst (Y Zeolites typically have Si/Al ratios of 2-8 whereas ZSM-5typically has an Si/Al ratio of 15-30,000). Other alkylation catalystsare known in the chemical industry. In the present invention, thereaction of acetylene and ethylene to benzene is suppressed and thereaction of these reactive hydrocarbons with methane is enhanced. Steammay be introduced into the reactor to achieve the desired conversionresults. The preferred reactor conditions are temperatures in the rangefrom about 300 to about 1000 K and pressure in the range from about 2 toabout 30 bar. The products of the liquefaction reaction leaveliquefaction reactor 30 through catalytic reactor outlet stream 32.

As shown in FIG. 1, catalytic reactor outlet stream 32 maybe sent toproduct separator 40. The primary purpose of product separator 40 is toseparate the desired hydrocarbon liquid products from any lighter,primarily gaseous components that may remain after liquefaction. Itshould be understood that a cooling step may be considered a part ofproduct separator 40 of FIG. 1. Cooling of the stream after the reactionmay be necessary, depending upon the method of final separation and theoptimum conditions for that separation. If the product separator 40 issimply a gas-liquid or flash separation, cooling may be necessary.Distillation, adsorption or absorption separation processes, includingpressure-swing adsorption and membrane separation, may be used for thefinal separation. Any known hydrocarbon liquid-gas separation processesmay be used for product separator 40, which is considered a part of thecatalytic reactor. The liquid hydrocarbons separated in productseparator 40 are sent to storage or transport facilities through productseparation outlet stream 42. The primarily gaseous components separatedin product separator 40, which may consist primarily of hydrogen may besent through light gas recycle stream 44 to electrical generator 50through recycle purge stream 46, combined with reactor outlet stream 18through light gas to reactor outlet stream 48, or a portion of recyclepurge stream 46 may be sent to each. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4,light gas recycle stream 44 may be conveyed to hydrogen combustionfurnace 210 for combustion rather than to a fuel cell or turbine forconversion to electricity.

Note that processing steps may be added after liquefaction and beforeproduct separator 40 or, alternatively, after product separator 40, toconvert the hydrocarbon liquids such as naphtha or gasoline or toheavier compounds such as diesel.

In still another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, quenchoutlet stream 19 may be directed to hydrogenation reactor 310, wherealkynes, primarily acetylene, may be converted into the preferredintermediate product, ethylene and other olefins, according to generalreaction (wherein the alkyne is acetylene):

C₂H₂+H₂→C₂H₄

Traditional catalysts for conversion of alkynes to alkenes are used toconvert acetylene to ethylene. These include nickel-boride, metallicpalladium, and bimetallic catalysts such as palladium with a group 1 bmetal (copper, silver or gold). Some natural gas feed streams containedtrace amounts of sulfur compounds that may act as a poison for thehydrogenation catalyst. In addition, incoming sulfur compounds may reactin the hydrogen combustion furnace to form catalyst poisons, such as COSand H₂S. It is preferable to remove or reduce the concentration of thesecatalyst poisons by means well known by those in the art, such asactivated carbon or amine.

The products of the reaction that occurs in hydrogenation reactor 310are conveyed to hydrogen separator 20 through hydrogenation outletstream 312. Because the conversion from acetylene to ethylene is notcomplete, hydrogenation outlet stream 312 contains both acetylene andethylene, as well as hydrogen and some higher-molecular-weight alkynesand alkenes. In alternative embodiments, after leaving high temperaturereactor 110 in FIG. 3 or hydrogen combustion furnace 210 in FIG. 4,furnace outlet stream 18 may be directed to hydrogen separator 20,bypassing hydrogenation reactor 310.

In another alternate embodiment also shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, lightgas recycle stream 44 may be routed to secondary hydrogen separator 320.Like hydrogen separator 20, this separation step may be performed by anyof a variety of processes, including membrane or pressure swingprocesses, described for example in: A. Malek and S. Farooq, “HydrogenPurification from Refinery Fuel Gas by Pressure Swing Adsorption”. AIChEJ. 44, 1985 (1998). As shown in FIG. 2, hydrogen removed duringseparation in secondary hydrogen separator 320 is removed throughsecondary hydrogen separator hydrogen stream 324. A portion of secondaryhydrogen separator hydrogen stream 324 may be routed to electricalgenerator 50 through recycle purge stream 46. The remaining componentsof light gas recycle stream 44 exit secondary hydrogen separator 320through secondary hydrogen separator outlet stream 322. A portion ofsecondary hydrogen separator outlet stream may be sent to electricalgenerator 50 through secondary hydrogen separator purge stream 328. Theremainder of hydrogen separator outlet stream 322 may be routed to theinlet of catalytic reactor 30 through hydrogen separator recycle stream326. In another embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, secondary hydrogenseparator hydrogen stream 324 is combined with hydrogen separatorhydrogen stream 22 and sent to electrical generator 50. Secondaryhydrogen separator outlet stream 322 is sent to the inlet of catalyticreactor 30. In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, secondary hydrogenseparator hydrogen stream 324 is combined with hydrogen separatorhydrogen stream 22 and sent to hydrogen combustion furnace 210. In FIG.6, still another embodiment is shown where secondary hydrogen separatorhydrogen stream is combined with hydrogen separator hydrogen stream 22to maximize production of hydrogen. Secondary hydrogen separator 320 maybe used in lieu, instead of in addition to, hydrogen separator 20.Catalytic reactor outlet stream 32 may also be directed to productseparation 40 without the use of secondary hydrogen separator 320, asshown in FIG. 1.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific details, it is not intended that such details should beregarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention, except as andto the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims.

What we claim is:
 1. A method for converting natural gas to ahydrocarbon liquid and water, comprising the steps of: a) providing astream of natural gas; b) separating the natural gas stream into a feedstream and a burn stream; c) conveying the feed stream and burn streamto a furnace wherein the burn stream is burned and wherein the feedstream is heated to form hydrogen and reactive products comprising anacetylene portion; d) quenching the reactive products and hydrogen; e)separating the reactive products and hydrogen; f) conveying the reactiveproducts to a catalytic liquefaction reactor and providing natural gasand a catalyst in the reactor such that the reactive products andnatural gas react to produce hydrogen and the hydrocarbon liquid; and g)conveying the hydrocarbon liquid storage or transport.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the pressure of the natural gas stream is between about1 bar and about 20 bars.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein in step b) thefeed stream is heated to a temperature in the range from about 1000 K toabout 1800 K.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the feed stream ismaintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than 100milliseconds.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the feed stream ismaintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than 80milliseconds.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the catalyst in thecatalytic liquefaction reactor is an acid catalyst.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the temperature in the catalytic liquefaction reactor isin the range from about 300 K to about 1000 K.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein the burn stream is burned using oxygen-enriched air.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising after step e) h) conveying thehydrogen to a fuel cell or turbine; i) providing oxygen to the fuel cellor turbine; j) reacting the hydrogen with the oxygen in the fuel cell orburning the hydrogen with the oxygen in the turbine to produceelectricity.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the fuel cell or turbineproduce heat.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising after stepj): k) heating water produced in the fuel cell or turbine with heatproduced in the fuel cell to form steam and; l) generating electricityfrom the steam.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of quenchingis performed by a Joule-Thompson expander, nozzle or turbo expander. 13.The method of claim 1 further comprising prior to step e) but after stepd): conveying the reactive products and hydrogen to a hydrogenationreactor and reacting the acetylene portion of the reactive products withthe hydrogen to form ethylene.
 14. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising after step f): separating the hydrogen from the hydrocarbonliquid; providing oxygen to the a cell or turbine; and reacting thehydrogen with the oxygen in the fuel cell or burning the hydrogen withthe oxygen in the turbine to produce electricity.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon liquid comprises naphtha or gasoline.16. The method of claim 1 further comprising after step b) but beforestep c): segregating of portion of the feed stream to form an electricalgeneration stream; conveying the electrical generation stream to a fuelcell or turbine; providing oxygen to their fuel cell or turbine;reacting the electrical generation stream with the oxygen in the fuelcell or burning the electrical generation stream with the oxygen in theturbine to form electricity.
 17. A method for converting natural gas toa hydrocarbon liquid and water, comprising the steps of: a) providing astream of natural gas; b) conveying the natural gas to a reactor havingmeans for heating the natural gas using electrical power, wherein thenatural gas is heated to form hydrogen and reactive products comprisingan acetylene portion; c) quenching the reactive products and hydrogen;d) conveying the reactive products and hydrogen to a hydrogenationreactor; e) reacting the acetylene portion of the reactive products withhydrogen to form ethylene; f) conveying the reactive products to acatalytic liquefaction reactor and providing natural gas and a catalystin the liquefaction reactor such that the reactive products and naturalgas react to produce hydrogen and the hydrocarbon liquid; g) conveyinghydrogen to a means for generating electrical power and producing water;h) conveying the electrical power from the means for generatingelectrical power to the reactor having means for heating usingelectrical power; i) conveying the hydrocarbon liquid and the water tostorage or transport.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein in step b) themeans for heating the natural gas using electrical power is an electricarc, resistance heating a plasma reactor, a fuel cell, or a combinedcycle gas turbine drive electrical generator.
 19. The method of claim 17wherein the selected pressure of the natural gas stream is between about1 bar and about 12 bars.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein in step b)the natural gas is heated to a temperature in the range from about 1000K to about 1800 K.
 21. The method of claim 17 wherein the feed stream ismaintained at a temperature of at lest 1000 K for less than 100milliseconds.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the natural gas streamis maintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than 100milliseconds.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein the natural gas streamis maintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than 80milliseconds.
 24. The method of claim 17 wherein the catalyst in thecatalytic liquefaction reactor is an acid catalyst.
 25. The method ofclaim 17 wherein the temperature in the catalytic liquefaction reactoris in the range from about 300 K to about 1000 K.
 26. The method ofclaim 17 wherein the step of quenching is performed by a Joule-Thompsonexpander, nozzle or turbo expander.
 27. The method of claim 17 furthercomprising after step a) but before step b) segregating a portion of thenatural gas stream to form an electrical generation stream; conveyingthe electrical generation stream to a fuel cell or turbine; conveyingthe hydrogen to a means for generating electrical power and producingwater.
 28. A method for converting natural gas to a hydrocarbon liquidand water, comprising the steps of: a) providing a stream of naturalgas; b) conveying the natural gas through a furnace wherein hydrogen isburned and wherein the natural gas is heated to form hydrogen andreactive products, comprising an acetylene portion; c) quenching thereactive products and hydrogen; d) conveying the reactive products andhydrogen to a hydrogenation reactor; e) reacting the acetylene portionof the reactive products with hydrogen to form ethylene; f) conveyingthe reactive products and hydrogen to a catalytic liquefaction reactorand providing natural gas and a catalyst in the reactor such that thereactive products and natural gas react to produce hydrogen and thehydrocarbon liquid; g) conveying hydrogen from the catalyticliquefaction reactor to the hydrogen furnace for burning so as to heatthe natural gas and produce water; and h) conveying the hydrocarbonliquid and the water to storage or transport.
 29. The method of claim 28wherein the selected pressure of the natural gas stream is between about1 bar and about 12 bars.
 30. The method of claim 28 wherein in step b)the natural gas is heated to a temperature in the range from about 1000K to about 1800 K.
 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the natural gasstream is maintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than100 milliseconds.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the natural gasstream is maintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than80 milliseconds.
 33. The method of claim 28 wherein the catalyst in thecatalytic liquefaction reactor is an acid catalyst.
 34. The method ofclaim 28 wherein the temperature in the catalytic liquefaction reactoris in the range from about 300 K to about 1000 K.
 35. The method ofclaim 28 wherein the hydrogen is burned using oxygen-enriched air. 36.The method of claim 28 wherein the step of quenching is performed by aJoule-Thompson expander, nozzle or turbo expander.
 37. A method forconverting natural gas to naphtha or gasoline and water, comprising thesteps of: a) providing a stream of natural gas; b) conveying the naturalgas to reactor having means for heating the natural gas using electricalpower, wherein the natural gas is heated to form hydrogen and reactiveproducts comprising an acetylene portion; c) quenching the reactiveproducts and hydrogen; d) conveying the reactive products and hydrogento a hydrogenation reactor; e) reacting the acetylene portion of thereactive products with hydrogen to form ethylene; f) conveying thereactive product stream to a catalytic liquefaction reactor andproviding natural gas and a catalyst in the liquefaction reactor suchthat the reactive products and natural gas react to produce hydrogen andnaphtha or gasoline; g) conveying the hydrogen to a means for generatingelectrical power and producing water; h) conveying the electrical powerto the reactor having means for heating using electrical power; and i)conveying the naphtha or gasoline and the water to storage or transport.38. The method of claim 36 wherein the selected pressure of the naturalgas stream is between about 1 bar and about 12 bars.
 39. The method ofclaim 36 wherein in step b) the natural gas is heated to a temperaturein the range from about 1000 K to about 1800 K.
 40. The method of claim39 wherein the natural gas stream is maintained at a temperature of atleast 1000 K for less than 100 milliseconds.
 41. The method of claim 40wherein the natural gas stream is maintained at a temperature of atleast 1000 K for less than 80 milliseconds.
 42. The method of claim 37wherein the catalyst in the catalytic liquefaction reactor is an acidcatalyst.
 43. The method of claim 37 wherein the temperature in thecatalytic liquefaction reactor is in the range from about 300 K to 1000K.
 44. The method of claim 37 wherein the hydrogen is burned usingoxygen enriched air.
 45. The method of claim 37 wherein the step ofquenching is performed by a Joule-Thompson expander, nozzle or turboexpander.
 46. A method for converting natural gas to naphtha or gasolineand water, comprising the steps of: a) providing a stream of naturalgas; b) conveying the natural gas through a furnace wherein hydrogen isburned and wherein the natural gas is heated to form hydrogen andreactive products, comprising an acetylene portion; c) quenching thereactive products and hydrogen; d) conveying the reactive products andhydrogen to a hydrogenation reactor; e) reacting the acetylene portionof the reactive products with hydrogen to form ethylene; f) conveyingthe reactive products and hydrogen to a catalytic liquefaction reactorand providing natural gas and a catalyst in the reactor such that thereactive products and natural gas react to produce hydrogen and naphthaor gasoline; g) conveying hydrogen from the catalytic liquefactionreactor to the hydrogen furnace for burning so as to heat the naturalgas and produce water; and h) conveying the naphtha or gasoline and thewater to storage or transport.
 47. The method of claim 46 wherein theselected pressure of the natural gas stream is between about 1 bar andabout 12 bars.
 48. The method of claim 46 wherein in step b) the naturalgas is heated to a temperature in the range from about 1000 K to about1800 K.
 49. The method of claim 48 wherein the natural gas stream ismaintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than 100milliseconds.
 50. The method of claim 49 wherein the natural gas streamis maintained at a temperature of at least 1000 K for less than 80milliseconds.
 51. The method of claim 46 wherein the catalyst in thecatalytic liquefaction reactor is an acid catalyst.
 52. The method ofclaim 46 wherein the temperature in the catalytic liquefaction reactoris in the range from about 300 K to 1000 K.
 53. The method of claim 46wherein the hydrogen is burned using oxygen enriched air.
 54. The methodof claim 46 wherein the step of quenching is performed by aJoule-Thompson expander, nozzle or turbo expander.